A Dance in Chenonceaux
by CastieltheCompanion
Summary: The Doctor and Rose visit and spend the night in French castles, adding to the romance of their relationship. (no major smut)


Rose and the Doctor crept out of the TARDIS, inspecting their surroundings carefully like the experienced travelers of time they were. They were stopped by a large, wooden door, seemingly that of a cupboard.

Rose's eyebrows rose and she smacked her lips. "I think we landed in a cupboard," she declared, crossing her arms.

The Doctor shrugged, trying to look behind the TARDIS. "Doesn't seem like much to me…" he complained, peering at the very small space they were now entrapped in.

Rose frowned. "Well, ya know, if you like.. we could always hop back in… and try someplace else.."

The sentence was cut off by their simultaneous laughter, and finally Rose sighed and added with a chipper tone, "Let's go, yeh?"

The Doctor pushed on the door of the cupboard, which opened into a heavily decorated bedroom, complete with intricate golden designs on every wall and a very dapper bed.

"Whoa," Rose breathed, taking it all in.

The Doctor squinted. "England.. no, France… 16th century… I'd say right after Henri II's death… this is Chenonceaux, castle of Catherine de Medicis. The year is approximately 1560, eyup, that's right, anddd we're in one of hundreds of bedrooms."

He quickly flashed the watch on the inside of his right wrist, then whipped out his glasses to look around. Rose looked incredulously around the room.

"It's gorgeous." she gasped, eyes wide open with wonder.

The Doctor stopped what he was doing to glance at her. She was so adorable in her marveling the beauty, and really he was admiring the view as well. She looked at him and smiled, blonde hair gently fwipping her shoulders.

He continued to stare with his mouth slightly open and his glasses on the tip of his nose. Rose laughed and said through her smile, "So, Doctahh, old France. Can we stay for a bit? Please? I doubt every bedroom is occupied, we can stay in jus' one, right? No-one'll mind, really..." Her cheeky tongue peeked between rows of teeth, her lips pulled back into a mischievous smile.

The Doctor blinked and shook his head lightly as if to wake himself up. He tried to compose himself quickly as he stuttered, "Er, well, no, I guess not… châteaux normally have large amounts of vacant rooms…"

Rose giggled once, and jumped. "So, we can stay?"

The Doctor smiled warmly at her reaction. "Yeah, Rose, we'll stay." His face narrowed as he sternly added, "But only one night!" He raised a finger at her in warning.

Rose smirked at him. "Sure, Doctor, only one night in such a luxurious castle with the woman you love…" His finger dropped, and he blushed, turning away.

He then tensed and whispered hurriedly, "Hurry, Rose, get behind a curtain or something, someone's coming. Just try not to-" He turned to face her, but she was gone.

"Er… Rose?" he whispered hoarsely. Her giggled came faintly from the cupboard they came out of. Looking back, he darted in just as a very confused butler who had been hearing voices and laughing approached the empty room.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor fiddled with controls on the consol, eventually plopping down onto the seats and prepping his feet up. He rested his hands comfortably behind his head and shut his eyes, smiling.

"Bonjour, mon docteur. Irons-nous?"

The Doctor's eyes shot open and he clambered to his feet, dropping them from the consol and sitting upright in the chair. His mouth opened slightly, and his eyebrows were nearly at the hairline.

"Y-you know French?" he stammered, still stunned by her lovely attire.

She was sporting an elaborate gown, complete with a corsette that hugged her curves and a petticoat, enhancing the detailed skirt. Her slender arms were dressed in a lovely set of cream gloves, with a few pearl beads at the wrist down the arm. Her soft blonde hair was tied up in a very neat bun, leaving a few strands of perfect curls to hang freely. Her outfit was even complete with fancy pearl earrings and an expensive-looking pearl necklace, naturally next to her TARDIS key, which was tucked nicely into her hem.  
She smiled sweetly at the gaping Doctor, and teased, "You pick up a language or two when you've got the Time Vortex runnin' through your head."

He blinked, and closed his mouth.

"And runnin' around with you an' your incoherent little French phrases you pick up a little..."

She frowned at her redundancy and the lack of reaction from the Doctor.

He swallowed- she could tell it was forced- and stood up.

Rose frowned again, and furrowed her brows frustratingly. He took her hands without wavering from his gaze, and lowered his head, eyes still connected.

Confused, Rose looked back worriedly.

"Was it something I said? Did I say it wrong? Is it too much? Was I—"

"Rose." he said once, emphasizing her name and silencing her. "You look absolutely beautiful. You, right here, right now, in this dress, are probably the most beautiful creature I've ever laid eyes on in my 900+ years of existence." He pursed his lips in thought, then continued. "WEEELL, actually, creature or not, you are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, definitely." he declared, narrowing his eyes. "And now I'm going to put a suit on because I look daft and you… well, you don't."

He released her hands and hopped off to his room, leaving her blushing in the consol room.

He returned later in a black tuxedo and simple black bow tie, adjusting it once and proclaiming, "Bowties are cool."

Rose shook her head at that and looked at him. "Nooo… don't say that…"  
The Doctor looked at her with innocent eyes. Rose giggled at his puppy-like expression.

"Well, you make them cool, I guess."

He grinned brilliantly, took her arm politely in his own, and escorted her out of the closet.

They walked down the corridors, passing many servants to the queen and members of royalty. It was all they could do not to burst into laughter each time a snooty servant would respectfully bow deeply in their royal presence.

Finally, the esteemed pair reached what the Doctor recognized as the ballroom, proven by the loads of couples in delicate gowns and blazing suits waltzing across the marble floor.

The Doctor caught a few bachelors eyeing Rose from across the room, and his head grew dizzy with the boiling jealously and possessiveness over his Rose. He politely stepped in front of her and bowed deeply, mimicking the servants, taking her gentle hand into his.

"May I have this dance, ma chere?" he asked in a thick French accent. Rose tried not to snort, holding her gloved hand to her mouth and stifling the laughs.

She composed herself and mimicked his actions, raising her chin high. "I believe that you can, Monsieur."

He bowed again and she slightly curtseyed, both with straight faces, before he grabbed her hand and dragged her to the floor. Rose yelped, and laughed again as he led her to the center of the room. He stopped suddenly and pulled her close to him. The sudden intimacy made Rose blush unwillingly, and the Doctor just smiled understandably.

He began to dance, slowly at first, guiding her gently on her feet. Her skirt revealed her feet, which were wearing a comfy pair of white converse. The Doctor noticed and grinned.

Rose blushed again, smiling. "What? They're good for running. You never know when you might hafta run!" Her tongue did that adorable poking between her teeth smile again, driving him mad. He met her eyes, and they danced like no one was watching. The other people in the room, however, did begin to notice the couple so involved with each other.

"Ooh, Doctor, I didn't think you could actually dance." Rose smiled, gazing at him. Her lips hinted at the joke, but her eyes glinted with passion.

He winked. "700 years of traveling, you learn a few moves."

"Yeh, Doctor? Show me your moves."

The dancing became faster, and the small orchestra playing for the room began to speed up to accumulate with the dancing couple, which was now the highlight of the dance floor. Onlookers watched in awe as the dancers conducted their feet, orchestrating a wonderful vision and amazing the audience. The harmonious rhythm of the fantastic dancers fitted perfectly with the music of the orchestra, and the music finished with an awe-inspiring final dance, ending with the lead holding his beloved follow in a graceful swoop. The onlookers paused for a moment, unsure of what to think, before breaking out into great cheers and clapping.

The Doctor and Rose snapped out of their entrancing moment, and looked around them in surprise, and the Doctor almost dropped his Madame. He helped Rose up, and they both blushed and bowed and curtseyed respectively. Then the lights dimmed, and focused on a balcony jutting out on one side of the room.

The crowd hushed itself as royal horns blared. The Doctor and Rose looked at each other, intrigued and thinking the same thing, then back at the now-lighted balcony where a couple, famously dressed, and a tiny announcer stood.

The little announcer stood tall, cleared his throat, and began in French, "Tonight, we witness the marriage of Your Highness's Daughter…"

Rose peered at the Doctor. "Royal wedding? And what date did you say this was?" she whispered, looking at the announcer.

The Doctor's eyes lingered on the announcer for a few more seconds before meeting Rose's and narrowed them.

"1560, approximately. Why?"

Rose grinned, "Oh my god, I think this is the first time France ever has fireworks!"

The Doctor, impressed with Rose's intellect on French history, raised his eyebrows and smiled at her. How perfect was this night?

They both looked back at the announcer as he finished, "…will be celebrated with the first appearance of the night's main event… the light-rain show!"

The crowd clapped politely and murmured. Rose gave the Doctor a look. "A what show?"

The Doctor shrugged. "It's originally in French, the TARDIS translates it quite literally, but you get the basic meaning."

He looked around, then whispered in her ear.

"Come with me."

He grabbed her hand and ran off for the second time that night, this time into a passage that broke off into a very long winding staircase.

"Where are we going? Doctor, what're ye doing?" Rose panicked, picking up her bundles of skirts with her free hand.

He said nothing and continued to run up the stairs. After some time the pair reached the top, panting and looking about. Rose wiped her forehead wither her head and gasped,

"What's this place?"

The Doctor took her hand and pulled her slightly to the concrete edge. Putting both hands on the ledge, Rose tiptoed up and leaned over. "Long ways up, oh my god."

"Is that a problem?" The Doctor's voice came from right beside her.

"No, it's jus'… wow, it's so beautiful up here…" she muttered, looking at the stars.

The Doctor pressed his hand onto hers laying on the ledge.

She chuckled. "I bet you know every one o' their names."

He didn't say anything, and she leaned into him.

Suddenly a large crack flooded the skies, and their heads both snapped down. Lights lit up the sky, then rained down in a series of brilliant colors.

"Fireworks!" Rose squeaked.

Another shower of lights, followed by a large crack, lit up their smiling faces. The Doctor tightened his grips on Rose's hand, and she looked back at him lovingly.

"It's beautiful," she smiled gratefully. He grinned proudly, and took her other hand in his other hand.

She looked back at the fireworks, and sighed. He clung to her soft hands, wanting to exchange them for her body, to embrace her in a hug in the moment, and never let go.

With Rose gazing at the fireworks, the light enveloping her excited face, he couldn't take his eyes off her, and, without thinking, he slipped his hands out of hers and slid one around her waist and the other up to her face.

Rose's head turned towards him, confused by the new action as he cupped her face in his hand and stroked her cheek. She could only stare back, heartbeat increasing, blood rushing, face reddening as he pulled in and met her lips gently with his own. The meeting of their lips was celebrated by another quite loud clap of a bigger firework, and Rose deepened the kiss.

A few moments later she pulled away, still shocked, and they didn't move for a few minutes, breathing heavily. Then the Doctor crushed his lips desperately on hers and she complied, opening her mouth to allow access. Their tongues explored each other's mouth as the kiss deepened, and hands tightened and pulled through matts of scuffy brown hair.  
The kiss lasted long after the fireworks subdued, and when they did at last break the kiss, gasping and panting in each other's embrace, Rose spoke.

"Er… we should get to our room… bit late, and we don't want to be caught running around the castle after hours."

The Doctor could only nod, still dazed, and led her down the stairs, careful not to let her fall or tramp on her pretty dress.

At the room, the Doctor shut the door quietly and sonicked the lock while Rose busied herself in the bathroom.

"Doctor? Can you get me a night shirt from my room in the TARDIS? I forgot to grab one, and I'm already undressed…" her muffled voice came from within the fancy bathroom.

"Does it matter? Which one, I mean." The Doctor asked into the door.

"Anything I can sleep in. Thank you!" she added as something clattered to the floor.  
"Drat," the Doctor could hear her mutter, and he walked off towards the TARDIS cupboard, stripping off articles of clothing and hanging them on ornaments as he went.

Back in the TARDIS he pushed open the door to Rose's pink and yellow room, thinking nothing of it. He calmly strode over to her drawers, pulling each open in his search. He was very careful not to muss anything up, and he froze when he opened the third drawer down.

It was filled with her panties and lingerie, and the Doctor could feel himself blushing. He told himself to shut it, he knew he should've, but he couldn't bring himself to.

Instead, he just stood there and pictured Rose being lovely and dressed in her lovely panties, bare skin meeting his. He shivered, then mentally slapped himself for thinking that, blushing again. He slammed the drawer shut and the opened the next one, pulling out the deep blue shirt on top.

Without looking back and still blushing madly, the Doctor stormed out of the room and gently shut the door, frustrated with himself. He was a Time Lord, surely a human girl can't be the cause of this? The TARDIS purred in response, and the Time Lord just muttered, "Shut up."

He clambered over to the bathroom door and hesitantly knocked four times.

Ta-ta-ta-tump.

He stood there nervously for what felt like lifetimes before Rose's voice came through, "It's open."

The Doctor hesitantly curled his fist around the knob before gently pushing it open.

Rose was facing away from him, brushing out her hair in the mirror, stark naked except for a pair of black panties. The humidity from her recent shower lingered, coating her body in beads of sweat and moisture.

The Doctor began to panic. He felt his face rush with heat, and, in his undershirt and tuxedo pants, approached Rose's slick body with one step. He licked his lips before starting.

"I… ah, well, I… where can I put this?" he stammered, gesturing to her shirt.

She turned to face him calmly, looking at him and replying simply, "Oh, you can just leave it wherever."

She continued to stroke her wet hair with the brush, pulling gently to detangle it.

The Doctor shut the door behind him and carefully walked towards her. He slowly set the shirt down directly next to her, leaning close to her body. She stopped brushing, and watched his hand place the shirt down. He looked at her reflection in the mirror, reached for her brush gently, and asked quietly, "May I?" She could only nod as he took the brush from her hand and pulled her hair back, revealing her bare chest. Rose shivered, both from the loss of heat and being exposed to him. He began to brush her hair ever so softly, running it through his fingers. He ran his hands down her shoulders, tracing her hair, letting instinct guide him.

Screw Time Lord pompousness, he wanted this girl now. His Rose. And, using his Time Lord enhanced senses, he knew that she wanted him too.

He led the brush up to the top of her head and started down again, only this time to be stopped by Rose, who stood and faced him. She took the brush from him and laid it behind her, not once leaving his eyes. She then took his now-empty hands and led them to her breasts, leaned in and kissed his moist lips. He gladly took her in his arms and held her tighter, closer. They deepened the kiss once more and once again hands were feeling, exploring, grabbing, touching, unfurling.

Rose broke the kiss with some effort, laughed once, looking down, and met his eyes again.

"Twice in the same night… must be somethin' in the air, huh, Doctah?"

He swallowed, yearning for her lips again. "I don't mind if you don't." he managed, concentrating on using his mouth for speech instead of what it wanted to do.

Rose grinned, teeth showing, and leaned in towards his ear. "Don't you think we should finish this somewhere with more sheets and less clothes?"

The Doctor frowned with puppy-like disapproval at his fully dressed self, making Rose giggle.

She backed up, grabbing at her night shirt and walked towards the door.

The Doctor frowned again, disappointed about the unexpected turn of events.

Rose laughed again. "I s'pose I won't be needin' this," she grinned cheekily, disappearing behind the door.

The Doctor followed her, turning off the lamp in the bathroom as he went. He began to unbutton his shirt, preparing for bed. Rose walked right up to him and stopped his hands.

Confused, he looked down on her playful grin. She slowly unbuttoned the shirt herself, making it sexier than it needed to be. The Doctor gave in to every bit of will power he had right then and his hands slid down to cup her perfect bum.

She gasped in surprise, then laughed. "Now he's getting' it!" she giggled, unbuttoning faster.

Nevertheless to say that was a night much enjoyed by the two of them, perhaps too enjoyed, for their unfortunate neighbors thought otherwise.


End file.
